Hitch bicycle rack suggestions

[BillTheHiker]

I have looked online at a wide variety of hitch racks. This one from Ironton is suspiciously inexpensive:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200622240_200622240
it is a 4 bike hitch steel rack for 2 inch receiver for only $40 with max load of 120 pounds -I only need to carry two bikes and will be under that max.

Anyone familiar with it?

 

[RicoV]

It looks like it'd be fine if you stick to pavement, but all bets are off the moment you venture onto unimproved roads. Folks often underestimate the varied kinds of stresses that bikes can undergo when they're suspended on these or other manner of solitary mounts. I recommend to anyone who'll listen to give some time and attention to ponder his particular camper config, and to then build 'flex' into the bike mounts so that the bikes more or less float through the bumps. Also give a little thought to the departure angles your rig is likely to come up against in your travels, and purchase your mount(s) accordingly. Good luck with your setup!
Rico

 

[BillTheHiker]

It looks like it'd be fine if you stick to pavement, but all bets are off the moment you venture onto unimproved roads. Folks often underestimate the varied kinds of stresses that bikes can undergo when they're suspended on these or other manner of solitary mounts. I recommend to anyone who'll listen to give some time and attention to ponder his particular camper config, and to then build 'flex' into the bike mounts so that the bikes more or less float through the bumps. Also give a little thought to the departure angles your rig is likely to come up against in your travels, and purchase your mount(s) accordingly. Good luck with your setup!
Rico

Excellent point. Are you suggesting I need to modify any rack I buy to handle rough roads, or is adequate flex built-in to some brands?

 

[RicoV]

Anything you can do to keep the bikes themselves from absorbing hits and vibrations is a good thing. The possibilities are endless, but for low-tech cheapo solutions the main thing I looked at were a wide variety of lengths and styles of bungees. I use them in several apps and configs to offset and distribute stresses on my mounted mtn bike, and if a desired bungee is too long I just tie a knot or more into it. My solo bike mounts (off my Grandby's rear overhang) were a custom fab of stress-modulating hardware from Ace that didn't break the bank and are more function than form, but multi-bike solutions like yours probably take more thought and resources to accomplish. But you'll make it work well I trust.
Rico

 

[Happyjax]

Would some of that pipe insulation/pool noodle stuff on the bar where it mounts help absorb some of the shock? Not having done any off roading I never really think about the stresses placed on our stuff both in and outside of the camper. Still learning

 

[Bseek]

RicoV's comments made me search to see if he had ever posted his homemade mount. It is posted here: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/6960-makeshift-bike-mount-on-fwc/

 

[Squatch]

My 2 cents is posted at the bottom of this page.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13645-traveling-with-bikes-recommendations/page-3

 

[Taku]

We have been using the Yakima Swingdaddy (spendy, but worth it when you want to get the bikes out of the way) and a Thule (don't know the model) that simply swings down. Have used them on many thousands of miles of highways and two tracks without any issues to the rack or bikes. What I would recommend is buying a good bike cover - having taken our mountain bikes down miles of dusty road, especially in the red rock country in Utah, having a moderately clean bike that doesn't have a thick coating of dirt on it is worthwhile. I would say a rack like that would likely work well for quite a while, just depends on how much use you want to get out of it and if you are willing to repair it if need be.

 

[BillTheHiker]

One problem I see with commercial racks I looked at, including swing away designs, is there does not appear to be room for a step or stool for getting into the camper door. Do you know of one that would allow that?

 

[idahoron]

When I have mine on I don't off road. The bikes are road bikes so no need to drag them into the desert. I use a step adapter and then I go into the step with the rack. My rack will drop down for easy access to the camper. The step allows a little room for throwing something into the camper if we are shopping.

 

[Randonneur]

Here is my two cents- worth a penny. I tried a few hitch tray style racks for my Tacoma and Fleet and settled on the 1-up USA. I first tried a Yakima Hold-up 2 but found it difficult to get in the back without removing the bikes and rack. Next I added a Rakattach swing arm that could attach to the Yakima rack but the Rakattach would not fit securely into the 2" receiver that came stock on my Tacoma without tilting to the side. This is a Tacoma specific problem since if you have an aftermarket receiver like a Kurt it fits just fine. Finally, I bought the 1-UP-USA that has a unique way of attaching to the receiver to take up any slack plus the rack is angled up so it gives better clearance for off-road. The only downside for this rack is that you will need to get a 7" extender in order to make sure your handlebars will clear the camper unless you plan on loosening the handlebars each time you put the bikes on the rack. I tested this set-up last year on a month long trip to the Southwest and went off-road quite a bit with no problem. I didn't do anything insane, but there were plenty of times that the vehicle was going up and over ledges or through deep dips and I only touched the rack once to the ground. The other advantage of this rack is it will tilt down with two bikes still attached enabling you to get in and out of the trailer although I normally take the bikes off when I get to camp. Sorry no photos since it is now winter and I don't have the rack on the vehicle.

 

[Ronski]

Here is my two cents- worth a penny. I tried a few hitch tray style racks for my Tacoma and Fleet and settled on the 1-up USA. I first tried a Yakima Hold-up 2 but found it difficult to get in the back without removing the bikes and rack. Next I added a Rakattach swing arm that could attach to the Yakima rack but the Rakattach would not fit securely into the 2" receiver that came stock on my Tacoma without tilting to the side. This is a Tacoma specific problem since if you have an aftermarket receiver like a Kurt it fits just fine. Finally, I bought the 1-UP-USA that has a unique way of attaching to the receiver to take up any slack plus the rack is angled up so it gives better clearance for off-road. The only downside for this rack is that you will need to get a 7" extender in order to make sure your handlebars will clear the camper unless you plan on loosening the handlebars each time you put the bikes on the rack. I tested this set-up last year on a month long trip to the Southwest and went off-road quite a bit with no problem. I didn't do anything insane, but there were plenty of times that the vehicle was going up and over ledges or through deep dips and I only touched the rack once to the ground. The other advantage of this rack is it will tilt down with two bikes still attached enabling you to get in and out of the trailer although I normally take the bikes off when I get to camp. Sorry no photos since it is now winter and I don't have the rack on the vehicle.

This is exactly the setup I have including the short extension. It works great. 1 Up has an excellent reputation, but is expensive and might not appeal to the casual user. I also made a fork mount on a piece of plywood which mounts to the kick panel and fits 2 bikes. I can roll my mountain bikes in backwards into my Hawk with the fork locked down securely, and then I place the front wheels in padded zip up bags and place them to protect the cabinets if the bikes move a bit. A little less convenient than the rack, but cleaner for the bikes and more secure.

 

[Taku]

We use a step extender for the 2" hitch. Keeps the bikes away from the camper and works as a step into the camper. Actually I am having it modified right now to make it a carrier. Bolted together a prototype we used for a couple of years and having the local welder fabricate it now.

 

[kmcintyre]

​Don't get a bike rack that clips, tightens, etc. on any part of the frame. New frames are very thin and they will eventually rub, break, etc. your frame (unless you are using a steel, low end bike). If you've ever seen an alum. frame cut in half, they aren't much thicker than an alum. can on some of the tubes.

Get a rack that clamps the wheels down (or over one wheel) and then clamps around the rim of the rims. You can get (like other stated) versions with will swing out, etc.

We put a step in our hitch first, then the rack extends out of the step. We carry 2 bikes and it does extend out pretty far. We put the flags, etc. on the outside bike.

Thule, Yakima, etc. all make various racks like I'm mentioning. Here's a link to one of the model designs I'm talking about:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-rack/hitch-bike-racks/thule-t2-pro-xt-2---21691037

They are terribly expensive but check craigslist, etc. There are other brands too. Also, there's an extension for these with 2 more mounts. We don't use that on our camper but use it on mtn bike trips where we don't take the camper (a different car, truck, etc.). We actually made it ourselves using extra mounts we had and we built up the extension and cross members and bolted the mounts on that. Save used a few hundred dollars and we had them as replacements from Yakima from our original purchase (one was missing a screw hole (I just tapped it out) and one the arm wouldn't stay up).

 

[BobM]

I use this Surco DBR400 Swing Away 4-Bike Rack for 2" Receiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029KBFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hgFBAb40SW1CH

 

[hoyden]

Hey!
I have a rack like this, but I can't figure out how to keep it from swaying because the wheels/tires have nothing to stabilize against. When I was traveling, I kinda tied it to the vertical bar, but that made it crazy difficult to take off.
How do you keep it from swinging around back there?

When I have mine on I don't off road. The bikes are road bikes so no need to drag them into the desert. I use a step adapter and then I go into the step with the rack. My rack will drop down for easy access to the camper. The step allows a little room for throwing something into the camper if we are shopping.

 

[longhorn1]

We have the RackAttack swing out hitch with a cargo carrier/bike rack. We carry grill, chairs, tent, and supplies in the carrier. We are in the process of having a trailer designed and built. Will sell the RackAttack and carrier. jd

 

[idahoron]

Hey!
I have a rack like this, but I can't figure out how to keep it from swaying because the wheels/tires have nothing to stabilize against. When I was traveling, I kinda tied it to the vertical bar, but that made it crazy difficult to take off.
How do you keep it from swinging around back there?

I close the curtain and drive. To be honest they do wobble but I don't worry about it.

 

[mattiedog]

​Don't get a bike rack that clips, tightens, etc. on any part of the frame. New frames are very thin and they will eventually rub, break, etc. your frame (unless you are using a steel, low end bike). If you've ever seen an alum. frame cut in half, they aren't much thicker than an alum. can on some of the tubes.

Get a rack that clamps the wheels down (or over one wheel) and then clamps around the rim of the rims. You can get (like other stated) versions with will swing out, etc.

We put a step in our hitch first, then the rack extends out of the step. We carry 2 bikes and it does extend out pretty far. We put the flags, etc. on the outside bike.

Thule, Yakima, etc. all make various racks like I'm mentioning. Here's a link to one of the model designs I'm talking about:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-rack/hitch-bike-racks/thule-t2-pro-xt-2---21691037

They are terribly expensive but check craigslist, etc. There are other brands too. Also, there's an extension for these with 2 more mounts. We don't use that on our camper but use it on mtn bike trips where we don't take the camper (a different car, truck, etc.). We actually made it ourselves using extra mounts we had and we built up the extension and cross members and bolted the mounts on that. Save used a few hundred dollars and we had them as replacements from Yakima from our original purchase (one was missing a screw hole (I just tapped it out) and one the arm wouldn't stay up).

Hi there. We are picking up our new Hawk for our F150 supercab later this month (May). We are in Boise and wondered if we could look at your set up with the hitch step and bike rack attached to it. Curious about how far out the set up extends. The weight. Your ability to get in and out of the camper with the bikes on. Not sure how I connect with you directly so thought I would post here. Thank you. Susan

 

[Jeromelo]

I have expensive bikes, to replace both of them would be in the 7 thousand dollar range. I put a hitch on the front of my Colorado and bought a Kuat Sherpa. Expensive but very lightweight and bullet proof. I waited and found one local for a good price. I've gone the inexpensive route and paid a huge price. A bolt held the bikes failed in the middle of nowhere...talk about a nightmare.